A considerable increase in the variety of frozen and refrigerated foods, particularly beverages and frozen foods, has encouraged many people to take such foods with them for later consumption. Many offices are equipped with microwave ovens, encouraging employees to bring frozen or refrigerated foods to work. However, for reasons of health or taste, most such foods must be refrigerated by the consumer prior to use. Unfortunately, with the exception of bulky ice filled chests, few if any products currently on the market will keep a wide variety of the most commonly used prepared food products refrigerated for a period of several hours.
For the greatest efficiency, consumers need an adjustable, refreezable utility cooler that may be used on almost any object that they need to refrigerate. While beverages and frozen foods may be the most common uses, other items, including a variety of differently sized Tupperware-type leftover food containers may also need to be refrigerated.
Many prior cooling devices fail to be useful in cooling a variety of differently sized objects. Some prior refreezable cooling devices are rigid in nature, and are suitable only for a specific use, such as for use with a 12 ounce soft drink can. To be effective in general use, the cooler must be flexible, even after the refrigerant has been frozen.
Other prior cooling devices fail to provide sufficiently adjustable fastening elements. Some fastening structures require that a first and a second fastening element be joined in a particular alignment, or that a first fastening element be joined with a second fastening element chosen from a group of several such elements, thus providing a step-function adjustment, with a finite num Ser of specific adjustment positions. To be suited for a variety of uses, the cooler must provide fastening means that adjust about the circumference of an object, and also adjust according to its depth. The adjustment should should be of a continuous nature, rather than a step-function,
Other prior cooling devices fail to provide a layer of insulation to prevent heat flow into portions of the frozen refrigerant not in thermal contact with the object to be cooled. As a result, the refrigerant tends to melt more rapidly than is desirable. Insulation should be provided, so that the flow of heat into the refrigerant is primarily from the object being cooled.
Other prior cooling devices fail to provide structures to allow the linking together of multiple devices to accommodate larger objects to be cooled. As a result, the user of such a cooling device is less able to cool larger objects.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an adjustable, refreezable utility cooler that is flexible in nature and that can be adjusted to cool objects of varying size by means of a lengthwise adjustable fastening structure and a perpendicular adjustable fastening structure. The lengthwise adjustable fastening structure must be able to compensate for objects of varying circumference, while the perpendicularly adjustable fastening structure must be able to compensate for objects of varying depth. The cooler must provide a heavy fabric cover containing one or more refrigerant bags carrying a refreezable refrigerant. Insulation should be provided on one side of the refrigerant bag, to limit unwanted heat flow into the refrigerant. The cooler should be configured so that multiple units may be linked together, to accommodate larger objects to be cooled.